The present invention relates to mobile communications.
A conventional subscriber identification module (SIM) is an integrated circuit chip configured to securely store an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related authentication key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones, smart phones, and certain mobile computers). A conventional SIM also stores a unique serial number, security authentication and ciphering information, temporary network-specific information related to a mobile network, a list of services a user may access, and two passwords; a personal identification number for ordinary use and a personal unblocking code for PIN unlocking. A conventional SIM is integrated into a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), oftentimes referred to as a SIM card.
The network-specific information is used by mobile telephony devices to authenticate a subscriber on a mobile network. This information also can include carrier-specific data, such as a short message service center (SMSC) number, a service provider name (SPN), service dialing numbers (SDN), advice-of-change parameters and value added service (VAS) applications.
SIM cards generally are a required component of mobile phones configured to connect to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) mobile networks and code division multiple access (CDMA) networks implementing the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard. SIM cards, however, typically are removable and can be transferred from one mobile phone to another, for example when a user upgrades to a new mobile phone. Because the SIM card stores the IMSI number assigned to the user and the network-specific information, the user is able to begin using the new mobile phone without having to create new authentication credentials. The new phone, however, still must be pre-configured to operate in accordance with the communication protocols used by the mobile carrier.
SIM cards, however, typically are network/carrier specific. Thus, a user usually is limited to using a single mobile carrier. If the user desires to change mobile carriers and use the same mobile phone, the user typically will need to replace the SIM card in the mobile phone. This process can be cumbersome if the user has accounts with multiple mobile carriers, in which case the user must carry a SIM card for each carrier and is tasked with changing the SIM card each time the user chooses to change mobile carriers.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,634,828 discloses “a virtual SIM (VSIM) card which may be contained as part of the mobile device's internal memory” and “provisioning data for multiple service providers may be stored within a VSIM and may be selectively enabled and disabled according to user defined profiles.” That disclosure, however, is centric to use of a single mobile device by a particular user, and does not address challenges that are presented in situations in which a user may use multiple different mobile devices.